Rangers stopper Darren McGregor: First goal at Ibrox was amazing.. I've already got a framed pic of it on my wall

SUMMER signing McGregor found the net against Dumbarton on Saturday and says the pic takes pride of place next to one of him scoring for St Mirren at Ibrox three years ago - an image which helped him through his injury hell.

“I’ll have to think about putting this one up there now. It would be a good idea to have my first Rangers goal alongside it.

“Maybe Erin could sort it for my next birthday or Christmas.

“That pic got me through the darker days. You can still see the big scars on either knee. After the operations when they were three times the size they are now.

“You’d do four or five hours and then suffer a setback. Just looking at that picture helped keep me going. It was just a reminder that only a year before I was folding jeans and there was me wheeling away at Ibrox.

“I never thought I would be in this position. That’s not to say I didn’t have aspirations but back then it was just about getting back for St Mirren.

“Everything from here on is a bonus.”

McGregor is clearing a space on the wall but he’s hoping Rangers will have to make room in the trophy cabinet.

They face a League Cup first-round clash against Queen’s Park at Airdrie tonight with the prospect of high-flying Inverness up next if they can get safely through.

McGregor is convinced Rangers can be in the frame for silverware.

He said: “There is a high calibre of players here and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be competing in the cup competitions with the likes of Aberdeen and even Celtic. I’d love to be involved in that but we don’t want to look past Queen’s Park.”

Rangers have clicked into gear after smashing eight past Clyde and battering Dumbarton for four.

McGregor said: “Confidence is a massive thing and I saw it growing at the tail of the Falkirk game.

“You saw it with Clyde. There is a difference against part-time teams but you still need to put the ball in the back of the net.

“It was good to get eight goals and then four more against a decent Dumbarton team.

“We were getting stick but the fans were right. Expectation is huge and they pay for their season tickets.

“They want to be entertained so it’s up to us to perform every week. There are external pressures but we should be beating these teams. That’s no disrespect to them but more about the players we have here.

“It’s the standards here. You can get away with a couple of bad games at St Mirren and Cowdenbeath but the winning mentality is unique here. If you can’t handle it you shouldn’t be here.”

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McGregor is starting to feel at home though, even if he has been shunted out of position. He is a centre-half by trade but he’s been slotting in at full-back with Richard Foster crocked. And he’s done a more than decent job at it – even though it’s been a steep learning curve.

McGregor was caught cold coming off the bench against Hearts on opening day when the Jambos took a quick kick-off after Rangers had equalised and went up the park and nabbed a winner.

He said: “It was frustrating because I felt it was my fault. It shouldn’t have happened like that.

“I don’t know if they needed to wait until I was in position but the only way I could have sprinted back was if I was Usain Bolt.

“If you have a right-back coming on then you can take advantage but I did feel culpable.

“It’s a position that’s new to me but the gaffer has put faith in me. He knows my strengths are defensive but if I can get forward and support then so be it.”